Department for Transport

East Coast Railway Line: Finance

Lord Beith: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the reply byBaroness Vere of Norbiton on 15 July (HL Deb, col 1945), what were the principal elements in the estimated £60 million a year in increased revenue from the operation of the proposed new East Coast Mainline timetable.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: Under the proposed timetable London North Eastern Railway (LNER) passenger numbers are expected to increase as a result of shorter journey times between key destinations, supporting the Government’s decarbonisation plans. It will also enable the addition of 30 per cent more trains per hour and these additional services would provide a significant increase in capacity creating opportunities for increased revenue.

Travel: Quarantine

Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they made an assessment of the effects on the travel industry of their decision torequire British citizens to quarantine when returning to the UK from France; and if so, what were the conclusions of that assessment.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: The Government has always been clear that we will not hesitate to act immediately should the data show that countries risk ratings have changed. The decision on France was taken following the persistent presence of cases in France of the Beta variant, which was first identified in South Africa.The Government recognises the challenging circumstances businesses in the travel industry face as a result of Covid-19, which is why we have provided an unprecedented package of support to protect jobs and businesses totalling over £350 billion. This includes support through the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, support for businesses through grants and loans, business rates and VAT relief. We continue to take a flexible approach and keep all impacts and policies under review.

Transport: Carbon Emissions

Lord Berkeley: To ask Her Majesty's Government how they plan to deliver for each mode of transport their commitment to Net Zero Carbon outlined in their Transport Decarbonisation Plan, published on 14 July.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: The Transport Decarbonisation Plan – “Decarbonising transport: a better, greener Britain” sets out the Government’s commitments and a series of actions and timings, to achieve net zero emissions across all modes of transport by 2050. We will continue to work with stakeholders across the sector, devolved administrations, local authorities and other regions as we implement the plan.

Transport: Carbon Emissions

Lord Berkeley: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the current percentage of carbon dioxide emissions attributed to (1) road, (2) rail, (3) air, and (4) shipping, including any UK share on international routes.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: The most recent confirmed greenhouse gas statistics, for transport in 2019, attribute 66% of emissions to road transport, 1% to rail, 23% to domestic and international aviation, and 8% to domestic and international shipping.

Department of Health and Social Care

Medicines and Medical Devices Safety Independent Review

Baroness Cumberlege: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the report by the Independent Medicines and Medical Devices Safety Review First do No Harm, published on 8 July 2020, what negotiations have taken place between the Department of Health and Social Care and Her Majesty’s Treasury about redress for those who have suffered harm from (1) Primodos, (2) sodium valproate, and (3) pelvic mesh.

Lord Bethell: The Department engaged with HM Treasury on redress prior to cross-Government approval of the response to the Independent Medicines and Medical Devices Safety Review.

Mental Health Services: Young People

Lord Beecham: To ask Her Majesty's Government why the Department for Health did not respond to a request from The Observer for a comment on the rise in demand for youth mental health services.

Lord Bethell: The Department responded to the Observer on 17 July.

Treasury

Taxation: Northern Ireland

Baroness Hoey: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the amount of tax that will be paid to the EU by consumers and businesses in Northern Irelandin the current fiscal year through (1) customs duties, (2) Value Added Tax, and (3) other instruments.

Lord Agnew of Oulton: All customs duty and VAT paid on goods entering Northern Ireland remains UK revenue and is not passed on to the EU. Consumers in Northern Ireland may be charged VAT in an EU country if they buy goods directly from a small business there. Similarly, consumers in the EU will pay VAT in Northern Ireland (which is due to HMRC) if they purchase from a small Northern Ireland business.

Finance

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the report by Christians Against Poverty Shipshape or sinking ship?, published on 21 July, what plans they have to annually assess levels of financial wellbeing across the UK.

Lord Agnew of Oulton: The Government recognises that the full impact of COVID-19 on people’s personal finances is still unfolding, and that some are struggling with their finances during these challenging times. The Government is committed to helping people improve their financial wellbeing, and is working with stakeholders from the public, private and third sectors on these issues. In 2020, the Money and Pensions Service (MaPS), an arms-length body of Government, published the UK Strategy for Financial Wellbeing, which sets out five goals to improve financial wellbeing in the UK by 2030. These include increasing the number of children and young people receiving a meaningful financial education, encouraging saving, decreasing the number of people often using credit for food and bills, increasing the number of people accessing debt advice, and helping people plan for later life. It also includes cross-cutting workstreams focusing on gender, mental health, and wellbeing in the workplace. The Government also works closely with Fair4All Finance, an independent body which was founded in 2019 to improve the financial wellbeing of those who are financially vulnerable through fair and affordable financial products and services. Since 2019, the Government has provided £96 million of dormant asset funding towards financial inclusion, which are being distributed by Fair4All Finance. The Government has close and regular engagement with the financial services regulators on issues which contribute to financial wellbeing. For example, in February 2021, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) published its finalised guidance for firms on the fair treatment of vulnerable customers. The Government is supportive of recent FCA work on vulnerable customers. In addition, at Budget 2021, the government announced up to £3.8m for a pilot No-Interest Loans Scheme to support vulnerable consumers who would benefit from affordable credit to meet unexpected costs as an alternative to relying on high-cost credit. Finally, the Government considers financial inclusion and capability as key determinants of financial wellbeing. The Government reports annually on progress made on financial inclusion through the Financial Inclusion Report. Furthermore, MaPS monitors levels of financial capability in the UK through the Financial Capability Survey, a nationally representative survey of adults living in the UK.

UK Internal Trade: Northern Ireland

The Earl of Clancarty: To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they are having with the EU to negotiate anexemption from ATA Carnets and CITES certification for temporary (1) import, and (2) export, between Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

Lord Agnew of Oulton: HMG published a Command Paper on 21 July setting out a proposed way forward on the Northern Ireland Protocol. This seeks to ensure that businesses and consumers can have normal access to goods from the rest of the UK and sets out a possible approach whereby movements that are purely between GB and NI do not require customs processes. The Government is not having any discussions with the EU to negotiate an exemption from CITES certification or ATA Carnets for temporary import or export between Great Britain and Northern Ireland. CITES certification is required so as to continue to uphold the UK’s obligations under international agreements. ATA Carnets are not a requirement, they are an optional facilitation which allows goods to be imported temporarily without import duty being paid, and a single document to be used for multiple countries’ customs controls. The UK and approximately 80 countries around the world (including all EU member states) accept ATA Carnets and are signatories to the Customs Convention on the ATA Carnet and the Istanbul Convention on Temporary Admission which govern the use of Carnets.

Stamp Duty Land Tax

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to extend the stamp duty holiday; and if they do have such plans, what assessment they have made of the impact of an extension on the benefits to local economies.

Lord Agnew of Oulton: The Government does not plan to extend the SDLT holiday. The SDLT holiday was a temporary measure introduced in July 2020 to create immediate momentum in the property market, supporting jobs in the industry. The £500,000 threshold was stepped down to £250,000 on 1 July 2021 and will return to the normal level of £125,000 on 1 October 2021.

Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government

Levelling Up Fund

Lord Berkeley: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether, in assessing applications to their Levelling Up Fund, they plan to take into account (1) the principles contained in their consultation Reforming Competition and Consumer Policy: Driving growth and delivering competitive markets that work for consumers, published on 20 July, in particular those about (a) levels of consumer harm, and (b) businesses blocking competition, (2) the availability of potential competition, and (3) value for money for taxpayers.

Lord Greenhalgh: The £4.8 billion Levelling Up Fund will invest in infrastructure that improves everyday life across the UK, including regenerating town centres and high streets, upgrading local transport, and investing in cultural and heritage assets.The Fund will operate UK-wide, extending the benefits of funding for priority local infrastructure across all regions and nations.We published a technical note setting out further guidance for the first round of the Levelling Up Fund on GOV.UK.

Affordable Housing: Rural Areas

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to allow local planning authorities in rural communities to (1) set the threshold for affordable housing, and (2) decide the tenure for affordable housing.

Lord Greenhalgh: This Government believes that meeting the housing needs of rural communities is important. We’re increasing the supply of affordable housing and investing over £12 billion in affordable housing over 5 years, the largest investment in affordable housing in a decade. This includes the new £11.5 billion Affordable Homes Programme, should economic conditions allow.   Since April 2010, over 190,000 affordable homes have been provided in rural local authorities in England. And between April 2015 and March 2020, 11% of new build additional Affordable Homes have been delivered in villages with a population of fewer than 3000, and we recognise the importance of these settlements for both economic and housing growth.   The Government has given councils a comprehensive range of tools to deliver a new generation of council housing and have a key role in the delivery of affordable housing:A package of reforms that give local authorities increased flexibility over how they can spend their Right to Buy receipts on replacement homes. This package will make it easier for authorities to fund homes using Right to Buy receipts including homes for social rent; allow authorities greater flexibility over the types of homes they provide to reflect the needs of their communities; give authorities more time to use receipts and to develop ambitious build programmes; and make sure more new build replacements are delivered instead of acquisitions, contributing to net supply.Government abolished the Housing Revenue Account borrowing cap in 2018, enabling local authorities to borrow for building.In terms of planning, national policy is clear that affordable housing contributions should not be sought for developments of fewer than 10 units. This is to ensure that a disproportionate burden of developer contributions is not placed on Small and Medium-sized builders. In designated rural areas policies may set out a lower threshold of five units or fewer.

Local Government Boundary Commission for England

Lord Watson of Invergowrie: To ask Her Majesty's Government how manyfunctional economic areas there are in England; and what plans they have to match them with local authority administrative boundaries.

Lord Greenhalgh: HM Government does not recognise a set number of functional economic areas. As such, there are no plans to match them with local authority administrative boundaries.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Agriculture: Environment Protection

Lord Carrington: To ask Her Majesty's Government why it is necessaryto terminate the whole of an existing agri-environment scheme if a part of that scheme is included in an application for the new English Woodland Creation Grant Offer.

Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park: We recognise that the absence of a widely available legal route to take land out of an existing Environmental Stewardship (ES) or Countryside Stewardship (CS) into a new England Woodland Creation Offer (EWCO) agreement without significant/full reclaim of payments is a blocker for some woodland creation applicants. We are looking at how we may be able to transfer land in CS or ES agreement to EWCO, where this results in an environmental gain. We are actively exploring options to find a way forward for existing agreement holders. In the meantime, the guidance in the EWCO manual remains valid. We will provide an update to potential applicants as soon as we have made tangible progress via our gov.uk pages and the Forestry Commission's e-alert. We remain committed to trebling our tree planting rates in England as part of our commitment to plant 30,000 hectares per year across the UK by the end of this Parliament.

Incinerators: Recycling

Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer byLord Goldsmith of Richmond Park on 6 October 2020 (HL 8373), (1) whether the "further monitoring" provided an accurate picture of incinerator capacity planned between now and 2025, (2) how that compares with levels of residual waste, and (3) what impact it will have on national recycling rates.

Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park: We are currently assessing planned incinerator capacity against expected future residual waste arisings so we can understand what future incineration capacity may be required following implementation of key commitments in the Resources and Waste Strategy. A further assessment of residual waste treatment capacity needs, updating the details included in the Resources and Waste Strategy, will be published in coming months.

Heating: Refrigerators

Lord Foster of Bath: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on 12 July (UIN28169), what plans they have to consult (1) consumer bodies, (2) the industry, and (3) MPs and Peers,as part of their review of the legislation covering hydrofluorocarbons.

Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park: Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) are the most common type of gas in the group known as fluorinated greenhouse gases (F-gases) and their use is being phased down under F-gas legislation. We are currently reviewing the F-gas legislation and plan to publish an Assessment Report based on the review by spring 2022. We are engaging with industry stakeholders to gather information and technical evidence to inform the Assessment Report. This includes engagement with key trade bodies, such as the Federation of Environmental Trade Associations and the Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Industry Board. . Following publication of the Assessment Report, we intend to publish a legislative proposal and run a formal public consultation during 2022. Any new legislation will be introduced to Parliament in the normal way, including consultation with hon. Members and Peers.

Shoreline Management Plans

Lord Walney: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to implement the recommendation of the Climate Change Committee in its 2021 Progress Report to Parliament, published on 24 June, to make Shoreline Management Plans statutory.

Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park: We will formally respond to the Climate Change Committee’s detailed recommendations in October. Adapting to the current and predicted changes to our climate is vital. The UK is already leading the fight against climate change by delivering on our world-leading target of net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. The Environment Agency is working with coastal protection authorities on a £1 million refresh of Shoreline Management Plans. This will ensure that they are up to date, using the best evidence in their recommendations and focus attention on priority areas for investment and adaptation. Last year, the Government published our long-term Policy Statement which sets out our ambition to create a nation more resilient to future flood and coastal erosion risk. The Policy Statement includes five policies and over 40 supporting actions which will accelerate progress to better protect and better prepare the country against flooding and coastal erosion in the face of more frequent extreme weather as a result of climate change. This includes a commitment to review national policy for Shoreline Management Plans to ensure they are transparent, continuously review outcomes and enable local authorities to make robust decisions for their areas. As part of this we will engage with stakeholders, including the Environment Agency and Coastal Protection Areas to consider the Committee’s views that Shoreline Management Plans should be made Statutory.

Flood Control: Coastal Areas

Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they regard the UK Climate Projections 18 (UKCP18) as an (1) up-to-date, and (2) reliable, tool for the future planning of sea defences; and what assessment they have made of the International Panel on Climate Change's revisions to its high emissions scenario which underpin UKCP18.

Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park: Sea level rise projections for the UK were updated in 2018 with the release of latest UK climate projections (UKCP18, Met Office, 2018). The UKCP18 projections for time mean sea level rise around the UK improve on the previous generation of climate projections (UKCP09) through improved understanding of the components of sea level rise (as demonstrated by a better agreement between models and observations) and the inclusion of ice sheet dynamics (Palmer et al., 2018). The Environment Agency has used the UKCP18 marine projections to derive allowances for sea level rise out to 2125 for each of the six river basin districts in England, based on the 70th and 95th percentiles from Representative Concentration Pathway (RCP) 8.5. These allowances can be found in ' Flood risk assessments: climate change allowances' and are intended to help ensure that new development adequately addresses the future risk of sea level rise. The marine projections are also used to inform sea level rise allowances in Flood and coastal risk projects, schemes and strategies: climate change allowances. There is a lot of uncertainty around the absolute upper limit of sea level rise this century but the science can provide low likelihood high end scenarios, called H++ scenarios, which can be used in planning. Such a scenario was produced as part of UKCP09. No probability is assigned to these but a range from 0.93 to 1.9 m was considered to be physically plausible and cannot be ruled out (Met Office, 2009). This scenario was designed to encourage people to think about the limits to adaptation from sea level rise. While the marine projections from UKCP18 include ice sheet dynamics, there is still uncertainty around the full range of contributions from ice-sheet melt (in particular from the West Antarctic Ice Sheet), and the assessment of literature available at the time of writing UKCP18 indicated that the H++ scenarios from UKCP09 can still be used alongside the UKCP18 marine projections when considering plausible extreme scenarios. The Environment Agency currently allows for a full range of future climate (up to and including the 95th percentile of the high emission RCP 8.5 case) in its sea level rise allowances, extended beyond the end of the century, as well as considering the H++ scenarios where appropriate. While these are conservative estimates, using all of the best-available data allows for the uncertainty inherent in climate modelling, the rapid rate of sea level rise we have seen in recent years and the plausible extreme scenarios currently outside of the probabilistic models. The Environment Agency regularly assesses the suitability of climate allowances as and when further information becomes available. The Environment Agency considers the UKCP18 climate projections to be a reliable and up-to-date dataset to inform future planning for climate impacts, while recognising that uncertainties remain, particularly in future emissions and ice sheet dynamics. The Environment Agency accounts for climate change through the application of allowances when designing and constructing sea defences, using a range of climate change scenarios, including a 4°C rise in global temperatures by 2100. The Environment Agency provides guidance to flood risk management authorities, developers and local planning authorities on how to account for climate change in new flood and coastal risk management schemes and development. In July 2020, the Environment Agency updated this guidance to account for future sea level rise and on 20 July 2021 updated the guidance to account of future increases in peak river flows. The Met Office will continue to assess the science of sea-level rise as part of the Met Office Hadley Centre Climate Programme, including examining the implications of the next IPCC assessment. It is not possible to comment on the content of the next IPCC assessment ahead of its publication. However, we do note that the model assessment exercise on which the IPCC assessment is based, called the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 6 (CMIP6), used a range of emission scenarios including one with a similar level of radiative forcing to RCP8.5.

Water Companies: Environment Protection

Lord Watson of Invergowrie: To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have held with the Environment Agency following the publication of its report Water and sewerage companies in England: environmental performance report for 2020 on 13 July, in particular regarding its decision to grant the highest environmental performance rating to five water companies, despite the overall failure of the industry to reduce by 50 per cent the number of incidents in which significant amounts of raw sewage are released into the environment compared to 2012.

Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park: The assessment of environmental performance of water and sewerage companies in England is a made by the Environment Agency as the environmental regulator using a methodology that is published and has been consulted on with Defra and other organisations including eNGOs.The environmental performance of a water company and the rating achieved is based on their performance against six metrics: total pollution incidents, serious pollution incidents, self-reporting of pollution incidents, discharge permit compliance, delivery of their environmental programme and their security of supply index for water resource. It is not based on the performance against any one metric such as serious pollution incidents.Although the sector did not achieve an overall 50% reduction in serious pollution incidents compared to the number in 2012, the number of serious pollution incidents declined for the second year in a row and were at the lowest number ever at 44 in 2020. Three of the five water companies with the highest performance rating in 2020 (Northumbrian Water, Severn Trent and United Utilities) achieved more than a 50% reduction over the 2012 to 2020 period. However, the sector as a whole needs to accelerate to zero serious incidents and ramp up work to support the Government’s goal to ensure clean and plentiful water, as the report highlights.There is more work to be done and over the last year the EA has made sure all companies develop and publish a pollution incident reduction plan for them to better understand their risks and implement interventions to reduce incident numbers. The EA has also worked with Ofwat to better align the financial penalties that they impose with environmental performance metrics. The EA will continue to use its influence and regulatory powers to require water companies to make timely, necessary and achievable improvements.

Eurostar: Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species

The Earl of Clancarty: To ask Her Majesty's Government what progress they have made towards making Eurostar a CITES-designated port.

Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park: Any specimen covered by CITES controls must be imported or exported through one of the 36 designated land, sea and airports which are all currently operational. The up to date list of the ports is available on the following GOV.UK page: www.gov.uk/guidance/trading-cites-listed-specimens-through-uk-ports-and-airports. The list of CITES-designated points of entry is kept under review and we are currently working with colleagues in Border Force to determine if it is feasible to designate Eurostar.

Home Office

Metropolitan Police: Coronavirus

Lord Oates: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many Metropolitan Police Officers were self-isolating on the day of the Wembley Euro 2020 final due to (1) a positive COVID-19 test, or (2) having been instructed to do so by the NHS Covid App.

Lord Greenhalgh: The Home Office has worked closely with the NPCC throughout the pandemic to monitor the impact of covid on police forces and to ensure they have the tools and capacity to continue to respond and keep the public safe. However, the Home Office does not centrally hold the specific data requested. The Metropolitan Police Service may hold this data.

Deportation: Zimbabwe

Lord Roberts of Llandudno: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will halt the deportation of Zimbabwe nationals who are due for removal from the UK on 21 July.

Lord Greenhalgh: No, this charter flight is part of our standard operational activity to remove Foreign National Offenders.Returning Foreign National Offenders to Zimbabwe is also not a new development and recommenced in 2018.

Cabinet Office

National Space Council: UK Space Agency

Lord Bowness: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether there is a memorandum of understanding in place between the National Space Council and the United Kingdom Space Agency; and if so, whether they will place a copy in the Library of the House.

Lord True: The National Space Council is a Cabinet Committee that exists to "consider issues concerning prosperity, diplomacy and national security in, through and from Space, as part of coordinating overall Government policy.” The Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whose department sponsors the UK Space Agency as an executive agency, is a standing member of the National Space Council. Membership and Terms of Reference can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-cabinet-committees-system-and-list-of-cabinet-committees. It is a long-established precedent that information about the discussions that have taken place in Cabinet and its Committees, and how often they have met, is not normally shared publicly.

Mobile Phones: Security

Baroness Uddin: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to reports of spyware targeting mobile phones sold by NSO Group, what assessment they have made of the security of the mobile phones of (1) Government Ministers, (2) Members of Parliament, and (3) journalists; and what steps they will take to (a) identify any security risks, and (b) hold those responsible to account.

Lord True: We do not comment on security matters or individuals. We believe the use of cyber espionage tools against civil society and political groups is unacceptable. Expert advice and support have been provided by the National Cyber Security Centre. It’s essential that nation states and other cyber actors use capabilities in a way that is legal, responsible and proportionate and to ensure cyberspace remains free, open, peaceful and secure. Where a law has been broken, HMG will work with law enforcement to bring those responsible to account. The UK and its allies are committed to ensuring key technologies are not abused and their trade is tightly controlled.

Veterans: Northern Ireland

Lord Empey: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many UK veterans are currently resident in Northern Ireland; and how that number is identified.

Lord True: The UK Government has no current means to identify UK veterans who are resident in Northern Ireland. Due to the sensitivities of the legacy of Northern Ireland’s past, many who served and now reside there do not feel safe disclosing their veteran status, and the question was not included in the 2021 Census in Northern Ireland as it was in England and Wales. The Office for Veterans’ Affairs is working with the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency on alternative solutions.

Coronavirus: Disease Control

Lord Jones of Cheltenham: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the reported description by Dr Mike Ryan, head of the World Health Organisation’s emergencies programme, of the policy of relaxing COVID-19 restrictions on 19 July as “epidemiological stupidity”.

Lord True: The Government made a full assessment of the epidemiological and other relevant data ahead of taking the decision to move to Step 4 of the roadmap on 19 July. The Government is clear that the pandemic is not over and that the public should continue to behave cautiously.

Ministers: Training

Lord Norton of Louth: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many (1) Cabinet ministers and (2) other ministers have undertaken professional development programmesto prepare for their roles in government in the current Parliament.

Lord True: Information on professional development programmes taken by individual Ministers is not held centrally by the Government. Ministers are able to access advice on specific subjects, including professional development programmes, such as the short modular training programme on major project delivery, designed by the Infrastructure Projects Authority and University of Oxford Saïd Business School. The declaration on government reform published in June states a commitment to ensuring Ministers receive training in how to assess evidence, monitor delivery, and work effectively with Civil Service colleagues. This work is underway.

Department for International Trade

Tradeshow Access Programme

Lord Foster of Bath: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the return on investment for exporting businesses created by the Tradeshow Access Funding Programme, prior to its cancellation.

Lord Grimstone of Boscobel: We have not carried out economic analysis of the impact of the Tradeshow Access Programme (TAP) as a standalone service. However, we know that the businesses we support in attending trade shows view it very highly, which suggests a positive return on their investment. When surveyed, 89% of businesses stated they were satisfied with their experience of TAP (DIT Export Client Quality Survey, published July 2020).

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

Sports: Fundraising

Lord Jones of Cheltenham: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any,to discuss with the National Lottery Community Fund ways to assist small sports clubs with fundraising events after the COVID-19 lockdowns.

Baroness Barran: HMG have worked closely with the Fundraising Regulator and the Chartered Institute of Fundraising to produce guidance to support safe and effective fundraising, in line with restrictions under each step of the COVID-19 roadmap. Current guidance is available on the Fundraising Regulator’s website.The National Lottery Community Fund is a non-departmental public body (NDPB), which means that it operates at ‘arm’s length’ from government. As a distributor of Lottery money, rather than of government funds, it makes its individual funding decisions independently, within the framework of the policy directions set by the Secretary of State for DCMS. The government cannot, therefore, intervene in or influence the Fund’s decision-making process or support individual applications for funding.